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Greg to Joe

So MLB.tv is the greatest thing that has ever been invented. I will have to give you my information for that since I have your Netflix info. I’m just sitting here in Lewisburg, PA with standard cable and MLB.tv and I am watching the Orioles play the Indians. It is the greatest thing in the world. I love it. And I’m pumped that I get to go to the Orioles game against the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball. It’s gonna be awesome and Camden Yards is a great stadium.

Chris Davis

In the game, I just saw Chris Davis CRUSH another home run. This is nothing unusual, but it got me thinking… is he the first half AL MVP? I would say that he is 100% in the conversation. It is basically Miguel Cabrera, Davis and Mike Trout. Davis is second in batting average with .331, behind Cabrera by .039 points, and has 7 more homers than Cabrera, 28. As I am writing this, it is subject to change after I send this, Davis trails Cabrera by 5 RBI’s. He has the pedigree for this. In the minors, he had a homer every 15 AB’s or so. That’s about 1 every 5 games, assuming he gets 3 AB’s a game. He just could not put it together in his first couple years in the majors. He had a .251 batting average with only 44 homers in his first four years in the majors. The Rangers dealt him for a reliever in 2011. It has worked out well for the Orioles as Koji Uehara, the reliever who got them Davis, is with your Red Sox now.

So, I think I am going to go with Davis because he is basically as good as Cabrera and he plays a really nice first base. Davis is my AL First Half MVP. I also have some really bold predictions, First Half Cy Young awards and the NL First Half MVP. But I want to hear what you have to say first. What are your answers to all those questions? Bold predictions, First Half Cy Young awards and First Half MVP’s

Joe to Greg

I’d have to agree with you in terms of the AL MVP leaders. I say as of right now, Chris Davis, Miguel Cabrera, and Mike Trout are your front runners. I think two other guys are worth mentioning and both come out of the AL East; Evan Longoria and David Ortiz. Longoria is batting over .300 for the season and is a big reason why the Tampa Bay Rays haven’t fallen out of the playoff race just yet. (Quick side note. The AL East yet again is producing a crazy race between all five teams, seeing as they’re all just separated by 6.5 games, the smallest margin in the MLB). David Ortiz is an honorable mention because the guy is 37 years old and he’s leading the Red Sox in Home Runs, RBI’s, OPS, and Batting Average. Keeping that type of production up is difficult at an older age.

On the NL side, Yadier Molina, Paul Goldschmidt, and Joey Votto are my favorites so far. Molina is out dueling Buster Posey as the best catcher in baseball right now. Posting a .355 average to go along with only 28 strikeouts in nearly 273 at-bats. To put that in perspective, Chris Carter of the Houston Astros has 107 strikeouts in 252 at-bats. Paul Goldschmidt might be one of my favorite players to watch. He’s tied for 3rd in home runs (19) and leading the NL in RBI’s (66). There’s no question he deserves to be apart of the conversation. Joey Votto is leading the Cincinnati Reds offense. Currently rocking a .325 batting average with a .963 OPS, ranked 4th among NL batters (Goldschmidt is 5th with .959). Votto may lack some of the numbers other candidates have but make no mistake about it, he knows how to hit and get on base.

Through the first half, these are my picks:

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera

NL MVP: Yadier Molina

What are your thoughts on NL MVP and the Cy Young Race?

Greg to Joe

I’m not so sure Ortiz is really a factor in the AL MVP race because it is basically impossible for a DH to win MVP. And Longo is big for the Rays, I agree with that. I put a little bit of AL East stuff in today’s Daily Dojo actually.

Yadier Molina

The NL MVP race is very interesting. I think Molina is so good and is definitely the best catcher in baseball. He has the offensive numbers as you said, but his defensive ability is AMAZING. I wrote about how the Cardinals pitchers that get called up and miraculously pitch well. I think that is because of Molina. He is just a pitchers dream. He makes his entire pitching staff indescribably better.

With all of that said, I think Goldy deserves NL MVP. He is carrying that team and he is absolutely dominate at the plate. They lead their division in a really tight race.

With Cy Young awards, its pretty tough. I think the AL comes down to Max Scherzer, Yu Darvish, Chris Sale and Hisashi Iwakuma. First of all, I do not think Iwakuma is legit. I believe he blows up in the second half even though he is in that huge park in Seattle, Safeco Field. So, it comes down to the other three. I think Sale will slow down to. He pitched 192.0 innings in 2012 and that is a 121 innings increase from 2011. His arm may fatigue and slow down. For me, its down the Darvish and Scherzer. If we go by what has happened so far this year, it is probably Darvish. He leads Scherzer by 21 strikeouts with 143. And his ERA is 2.95 to Scherzer’s 3.05. Now, I think Scherzer will win the AL Cy Young in the long run. He has the lowest Fielder Independent Pitching (FIP) than any of the pitchers I listed above with a 2.55. I can explain the FIP calculation later if you want to know what it is exactly. This is a good indicator of where the ERA is going to go as the season rolls on. It is also a better indicator of pitching quality. Also, his FIP is the only one that is lower than his ERA out of those 4 pitchers. So his ERA should drop, and the others should rise. For me, its Darvish now, but Scherzer at the end of the season for AL Cy Young.

In the NL, I think it is going to be Adam Wainwright now and in the future. He is so good and finally back to form after his Tommy John surgery in 2011. And he has been better than ever. Yes, Matt Harvey has been amazing and he has 15 more strikeouts than Wainwright with a better ERA at 2.05. However, they have FIP’s that are only a point from each other. Harvey has a 2.01 and Wainwright at 2.02. So actually, you know what? I am changing my First Half NL Cy Young to Matt Harvey. I do think Wainwright will end up winning it because Harvey will probably get shut down at some point. The Mets are not competing. They will not win this year, and why should they have Harvey pitching until the end of September when you could save the mileage on his arm? I also think that he will get lit up a couple times for no particular reason and no stats to back me up. Wainwright, when I watch him, is so good. I just cannot not pick against him. Therefore, Wainwright for Cy Young at the end of the year.

Cy Young thoughts? and any BOLD predictions for the rest of the MLB season?

Joe to Greg

By no means is Ortiz going to win MVP, but he’ll get the lower votes when voting comes around. I think it is tough to call an AL Cy Young. Without a doubt Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer are the top two candidates. Felix Hernandez is definitely in the conversation and I think just as deserving as Iwakuma. If you compare the two player’s stats through June 26th, their stats are basically identical. Just for fun, what team do you think has the best 1-2 pitching combo in the MLB? I think Hernandez/Iwakuma are at least top three right now.

Unfortunately, my main man Clay Bucholtz likes to play hurt. He came out of the gates hot and is still undefeated on the year and has the lowest ERA in the MLB, but he’s missed a couple of starts which I think will cost him a shot at picking up some hardware this year.

Adam Wainwright and Matt Harvey

In the NL, I agree with Adam Wainwright as a top pick.You have to appreciate a guy bouncing back from Tommy John surgery and producing the way he is. As impressive as Wainwright has been, how can you not love Harvey? The guy is an animal on the mound and he’s only a rookie but being a rookie has its issues. I believe the Mets will look to shut him down a couple weeks early depending on the playoff races and with St. Louis primed for a playoff run, Wainwright is going to have to continue to produce. I give the edge to Wainwright in the long run. I don’t think people can sleep on Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks either, seeing as he has yet to suffer a loss on the year. With the Diamondbacks looking like a threat to make the playoffs, it will be interesting to see how much they depend on Corbin to produce seeing that he’s also a rookie. Corbin’s name will be thrown around a little but I don’t think he has the credentials to compete with Harvey, Wainwright, or Clayton Kershaw. I feel we have the same thoughts for these awards with maybe one exception.

I truly feel like the AL representative for the World Series comes from the AL East and from what it looks like, the top two offensive teams in the MLB right now are gearing up for what will be an interesting AL playoffs. That would be your Baltimore Orioles and my Boston Red Sox. Sox-O’s in the ALCS, and my bold prediction, the Pittsburgh Pirates make it to the NLCS, where they play the Cardinals. By the way, if the Cardinals were to win the World Series, can we start to tag them as a dynasty? They win, add that to the 2006 and 2011 trophies and you’re looking at a team that’s been consistently competitive for almost a decade now. Who knows.

Have any bold predictions for the second half of the year?

Greg to Joe

Felix Hernandez is really interesting. I think that is pretty bold. He is going to need more wins. I know voters thinks wins are a good indicator of pitcher performance even though they really aren’t. The AL Cy Young Award race should be interesting. And I am glad you agree with me in the NL. I think the pitching dominance in baseball makes the Cy Young award race so much more interesting.

I think that the Cardinals can get a dynasty tag. They also have the best farm system in baseball. They are going to be good for a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time with Oscar Taveras as their lead man. It is incredible how well that organization is built from top to bottom.

Bold Predictions:

I think Manny Machado breaks the single season doubles record. I have been watching the Orioles a lot recently. He is just so good. He really is in the echelon of Trout and Harper. If/when he moves back to shortstop, I think he becomes more valuable than both of them. That could be my Orioles bias kicking in, but I really think he is the real deal.

Miguel Cabrera does not end up leading any of the Triple Crown categories at the end of the season.

Chris Davis hits 55 home runs this year, but only 33 next year (I realize this is kind of long term).

NL (L)East only sends the Braves to the playoffs and they will finish at .500 or worse. They will also be swept in the NLDS.

NL Central sends three teams to the playoffs. The Pirates win the 1 game Wild Card against the Reds with Cliff Lee pitching a shutout and Giancarlo Stanton mashing the game winning home run. The Pirates end up winning the NL Pennant and beat my Orioles in Game 6 of the World Series because of a Chase Utley baserunning error that kills a rally in the 8th inning.

Yes, I realize these are very BOLD

Joe to Greg

I don’t think your predictions are bold, they’re borderline crazy. Although I’m a sucker for you placing the Pirates in the World Series because come on, how can you hate the pirates? To wrap up our first half discussion lets play the question game.

Which team looks the most complete in the AL/NL?

Which division looks the strongest in the AL/NL?

Which manager deserves the most credit so far this season?

What player/team surprised you the most through the first half?

You already answered my last question, which was, what is your World Series pick through the first half, so I’m guessing you’re taking Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles – Pirates win in 6?

Greg to Joe

The Pirates WILL win the World Series if they deal the farm and get Lee and Stanton. They have the farm system. I just don’t know if the front office will make the deal. The Orioles have a shot, but they need another starting pitcher that won’t get hurt. It should be an interesting playoffs.

To answer your questions, the most complete teams are the Tigers and Cardinals. They have it all. The Tigers only problem is they cannot field, but that is about it. The Cardinals have everything including a great farm system to get a possible upgrade if they think they need it.

Strongest Divisions – AL East and NL Central. Both of them could send three teams to the playoffs. I will be doing half-season division reviews in the upcoming weeks leading up to the All Star break. So you’ll see how I view every division. Check out today’s Daily Dojo for the preview of the NL East, or NL Least if you prefer that.

John Farrell

Manager – John Farrell. I expected the Red Sox to be in the basement for the next three years. He has really helped a turnaround in that franchise.

Team/Player- Red Sox, see above sentence. The player that has shocked me the most has to be Jean Segura and/or Yasiel Puig. Segura just had no pedigree for power and I am surprised by his 11 homers. He has always had speed through the minors, but the power is just a shocker. Puig has been amazing so far. I think he is an absolute man-child. He is a stud, but I do not know if this will ever be matched by him ever again. This could be his peak. I say this just because he has been so good. A lot of people said that about Trout and Trout proved them wrong. Trout will be better than him in the long run I believe, but I could easily be wrong. I have a man crush on Trout.

And my predictions will be right if those trades happen. The one that I am most confident about is the Braves finish.

Answer your own questions. I am interested in your responses.

Joe to Greg

Most Complete Team – I’d say the Cardinals pitching and overall performance so far makes them look good. Also, as long as Scherzer keeps dealing, the Tigers look very threatening so we agree on this one.

Strongest Divisions – AL East for just how close of a race it is, again, this year and showcasing quality teams in the Orioles, Yanks, Sox, Rays, and the Blue Jays, who are finally getting their act together. I would say the NL Central because the NL East has been lacking a little with both the Nationals and the Phillies underperforming during the beginning of the season.

Manager – I think I have to give the nod to John Farrell because even though I also had faith in the Red Sox after a miserable season last year, I didn’t expect this big of a turnaround. Hats off for John Farrell so far.

Yasiel Puig

Team/Player – This is more of a combo pick between the Blue Jays poor play and the Red Sox quick resurgence. The Jays spent the money to get big names and haven’t really clicked yet, it will be interesting to see if they can make a run to close out the season and sneak into the playoffs. I’d be careful. Player — I’d say Puig for his overall LeBron-like style. I’m not talking about this potential legacy, but how from the moment he stepped onto the field, Puig began dominating games just as LeBron starting scoring and leading a team to the playoffs from the moment he entered the league. It really is fascinating to watch someone so young and inexperienced play with boiling confidence and composure. I agree Trout has the better career as well.

The Houston Astros have a team that may have the least amount of talent ever on a Major League Baseball team, but it didn’t use to be that bad. They were in the World Series in 2005. It has all gone downhill since then. The team made a variety of moves in that off season. They signed an outfielder and moved Lance Berkman to first base, which signaled the end of Jeff Bagwell‘s career. They tried to compete for the next couple of seasons, but failed miserably. They haven’t been to the playoffs since that World Series appearance. They started dealing their best players for prospects. They continually tried to gather talent in the off-season to compete. They made a deal in the off-season prior to the 2008 season with the Phillies, which could be looked at as their first deal looking towards the future. They dealt Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to the Phillies for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Mike Costanzo. They continued to give away players for decent prospects. Specifically, they gave Hunter Pence and Roy Oswalt, in different deals, to the Phillies as well and never got Domonic Brown in return. Some people believe that happened because Ed Wade was with the Phillies prior to working for the Astros. The only guy that has had an impact in the majors from those Phillies deals, so far, is Michael Bourn. Bourn grew into an on-base and steals machine in Houston. They Astros were able to flip him in 2011 for Jordan Schafer, Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens and Juan Abreu.

In November of 2011, the Astros were purchased by Jim Crane and announced they would move to the American League in 2013. Crane hired Jeff Luhnow as his General Manager. Luhnow came in with a plan to basically completely trade away all their valuable talent, and sign guys to short term contracts. They cut costs and started to stockpile valuable minor league talent. Their minor league talent will probably turn into an incredible core in a couple of seasons.

There was plenty of talent in the system before Jim Crane purchased the team. They had Delino DeShields Jr. (Son of Delino DeShields), Michael Foltynewicz, George Springer, Jonathan Singleton, and Jarred Cosart. DeShields, Foltynewicz and Springer were drafted by the Astros and Singleton and Cosart were given to the Astros by the Phillies in exchange for Hunter Pence. These players should be valuable for the Astros with Singleton and Springer being middle of the order bats. DeShields will be at the top, or bottom, of the order with plenty of speed. Foltynewicz as a project starter, and Cosart, who was supposed to be an ace, looks to be a potential closer.

Their 2012 and 2013 drafts were two key moments in acquiring talent. Their 2012 draft decision turned out to pay major dividends in 2013 and they had NO idea it would. Mark Appel was the top prospect heading into the 2012 draft. He was a junior at Stanford University. With the leverage of going back to Stanford, Appel was asking for the full allotment of bonus dollars given to the team with the first round pick (this amount was 7,790,400 in 2013). Teams do not have to give the full amount of bonus money and can spend more money on picks later in the draft. A high school player that falls into the “sandwich round” could be paid more than his bonus allotment to convince him to go pro instead of attend college. The Astros were not going to be pushed around by Appel and try to deal with Scott Boras, Appel’s agent. So, they went in a different direction and drafted the best position player on the board in Carlos Correa.

Carlos Correa

Correa, from Puerto Rico, wanted to play professional ball and was able to sign a contract within a week or so and start playing in short season ball for the Astros. The kicker in this one is that he only signed for a 4.8 million dollar bonus. The Astros were able to save able 3 million dollars for their other draft picks. When high school star pitcher, Lance McCullers Jr, fell to them in the “sandwich round” (explanation of “sandwich round”), they selected him knowing they could pay more than the allotted bonus and convince him to play professional baseball. They signed him to a 2.5 million dollar bonus, the Astro’s 4th largest bonus at the time. Correa looks to be the best bat in the Astros future line up and McCullers will, most likely, end up being a top of the rotation starter.

Mark Appel

Now back to Appel, he was drafted 8th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates. They did not have the amount of money to offer Appel to convince him to go pro. He turned down their contract and went back to Stanford. He decided that he would reenter the draft in 2013. Turns out, the Astros had the number 1 pick again! Appel had lost his leverage because he could not go back to school and who wants to go play in the independent league when you’re that talented? He was the top prospect, again. And this time, the Astros took him number 1 overall. He just signed this past week with a signing bonus between 6 and 6.5 million dollars. The Astros took a different approach this draft and chose to get the clear top prospect and a future ace. Appel could fly through the minors and be in the majors by the end of the year, but the Astros do not want to lose years of service time before he can get to free agency.

The Astros will also have a really high pick in the 2014 draft, but probably not the number 1 overall (that honor goes to the Marlins). If they trade the rest of their older MLB talent and continue to draft well at the top of the draft, the Astros are looking like a future World Series winner. I would be willing to bet they win one before 2020. They have to deal with 2-3 years of being the worst team in baseball, but it could lead to 7-10 years of being one of the best. I am excited to see this line up in 3 years. It is going to be one that is feared. Struggling teams are going to start following the Astros strategy of selling everything and building from the bottom up. Then again, some teams can build a good farm and be amazing, like the St. Louis Cardinals. This strategy is one of many used in baseball to build a team, and I think it is going to work out extremely well and will be competing for their first American League Pennant and their first World Series title.

Game 6 of the NBA Finals was easily the best NBA game I have ever watched, but I have not watched a lot of NBA basketball before this year. I just thought LeBron took off in the 4th quarter and Twitter BLEW UP over the lost headband.

LeBron James with and without the headband

Then, after his ridiculous turnover, everyone was calling for LeBron’s head. He was easily the main reason the Heat do not lose that game. I don’t really think you can question it. The Spurs did, however, blow the last ten seconds of the game by not calling a timeout. My only reasoning for that is that Parker tore his hammy or hurt it significantly more. Popovich is too smart to not call a timeout there. What were your thoughts, and how do you think Game 7 goes?

Quick fantasy note, how do you think your team is looking the rest of the way? We made a good deal, I think, of Dom Brown and Tom Wilhelmsen for James Shields and Norichika Aoki. Do you think your team has a good chance to win this thing? I really think my team is by far the best if Tulo and Harper aren’t hurt the rest of the way. But there is a long way to go and we are playing each other this week by the way.

Domonic Brown

Joe to Greg

The Heat live and die by the play of LeBron, there’s no doubting that. My problem with the Heat’s strategy was too many consecutive iso’s for James. More than five times Lebron was guarded by Kawhi Leonard and Mario Chalmers, being guarded by Tony Parker, would come set a pick and cause a switch that resulted in Parker guarding James one-on-one. In the NBA, its all about matchups but James didn’t take advantage of the smaller Parker, or maybe he took advantage of him but not as much as he could. The reason the Spurs lost this game falls back on the blown timeout call with ten seconds left in OT with Parker on the bench and also FREE THROWS. Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Leonard all went to the charity stripe with under three minutes to play. Each of them went 1 for 2 on their free throws, essentially giving up 3 free points that could have sealed the deal. I think Parker was pulled from the game because of the hammy issues and also because Popovich didn’t like when Parker had to switch and defend James. The other HUGE play was as the time ran down, I believe it was James who took the shot to tie the game, misses it, Chris Bosh comes up with the biggest play he’s made in a Heat uniform and grabs the rebound, who dishes it to Ray Allen and the rest is history. My question is, why isn’t Tim Duncan on the floor? You trust Boris Diaw in the last ten seconds of the game to guard Bosh when Duncan finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds? I think the momentum carries the Heat to Game 7 win. My heart says the Heat win but my pick is the Spurs 95, Heat 91. Your prediction?

On the flip side, I really like my fantasy team. I think one of the biggest factors in a successful fantasy team is balance across the board, but more specifically balance between power hitters (such as Prince Fielder/Nelson Cruz for me and Robinson Cano/Tulo for you) and your strong role players (someone like a Daniel Nava/Carlos Gomez for me and Omar Infante/Norichika Aoki for you). Also balance between your starting pitchers and closers. Too many starters may result in higher ERA and WHIP, too many closers and you don’t have enough wins and K’s. Since you and I have been 1-2 in our division the whole way, I think whoever wins the league comes from our division, between either your team, my team, or Grant’s team.

Greg to Joe

You’re right, the Spurs were ONE rebound or ONE free throw from an NBA Title. Duncan not being in at the end of the 4th quarter was a bit confusing too. I have no explanation for that. I really don’t understand the no timeout and then no Parker, in the last 10 seconds, on offense at least. I really think the only explanation for this is a hurt hamstring. I really do not see any other reason. Pop is honestly way too smart for that. I can’t question Pop, he is a genius and if he does something, he definitely has a reason for it. Much smarter basketball mind than both of us. With regards to Miami’s offense revolving around LeBron, its just how the team is designed. The team is not designed to beat a top NBA team without a LeBron scoring 30 points and getting 10 boards and 10 assists. And yes, LeBron missed the game tying shot, but he willed his team back into the game after being down 10 points going into the 4th quarter.

For Game 7, I wrote this yesterday… Game 6 winner will be the NBA champion. So, I’m sticking to it.

Jay Pharoah impression of Stephen A. Smith

There is NO WAY (Stephen A. Smith voice) the Heat lose this game. LeBron finally had a good quarter and he is going to carry that into a MONSTER game 7. I’m talking 40 points, 15 assists and at least 10 boards. I also think Parker is done. He might have a good 1st half in Game 7, but he won’t be able to have a good 2nd half. His hamstring is bothering him too much; he has not had 2 good halves in a game since Game 1. Heat will be repeat champions with a 98-89 win. And I think when everyone looks back at this series, people will think Game 6 decided the series and that’s the game everyone remembers.

So I think you’re wrong about the ERA and WHIP thing. I agree that with too many closers, you don’t win K’s for the week. But closers, and relievers in general, can DESTROY an ERA. If they give up 5 runs in 2 innings pitched for the week, you get tattooed with a 22.50 ERA from them for the week. Also, this is why I think our league format is dumb. Head to Head leagues for fantasy baseball is the dumbest thing in fantasy sports. I can’t say that enough. EXAMPLE: Say you had Mike Trout and Stephen Strasburg last year. They carry your team all year. Then come playoff time, Trout cools down, and Strasburg is shut down. ALL OF THEIR STATS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR JUST GO OUT THE WINDOW!!!! 140 or so games… GONE! Next year, it should be a roto league. Count stats from all year and be ranked based on those stats. Baseball and football are totally different sports. Baseball is a marathon and football is a sprint. Baseball should count stats for all year and football can be week to week because it is such a matchup league and that’s part of fantasy football, exploiting the matchups.

But this year, I might be able to take advantage of our league format. My team will make the playoffs regardless and come playoff time, I think Harper and Tulo will be back to form and it should help carry me through the postseason. I really think it is going to come down to us 3. Thats about it. Sorry Chris…

Joe to Greg

It pains me to say that my gut says the Heat win Game 7 even though I really really really really don’t want them to. Talk about some legacy’s at stake for this game now:

Scenario 1: Spurs win…Tim Duncan goes 5-0 in NBA Finals series and 2-0 versus LeBron, for some bragging rights. He wins 3 championships in 3… 3 different decades, which is one of the biggest achievements you can hope for as a professional athlete. Duncan gets a bump into the conversation of top five players EVER with his 5th ring and easily regarded as either the number 1 or 2 power-forward to ever play the game. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each get their 4th ring, essentially locking up Hall of Fame honors for them. The flip side, Lebron drops to 1-3 in NBA Finals series (Losing 1 with Cleveland and 2 with Miami). The Heat Big 3 are going to receive loads of criticism for their performance. Mainly Wade for pulling a Houdini and showing up every other game and Bosh for doing “Bosh-like things”.

Chris Bosh & Dinosaur

Scenario 2: Heat win…Tim Duncan still has an incredible resume, but this one will be remembered as the one that got away from him. Ginobili regardless of winning a title probably retires since he isn’t the same Manu anymore. James grabs his 2nd ring, Wade his 3rd, and Bosh his 2nd. The LeBron train keeps on chugging as more people question whether or not the Heat can be stopped even though after every Heat loss, the media act as though the Heat have hit rock bottom.

Lets put it this way, If the Heat win, then the media goes crazy covering them and their success. If the Spurs win, then the media goes crazy covering the Heat as James, Bosh, and Wade enter the final years of their contracts for the upcoming season. Meaning that next summer, we will have another “Decision” to worry about.

I’m siding with you on the baseball aspect in terms of the proper format to use. While its hard for me to comment on the varying styles of the format, I can see flaws using Head-to-Head. The case with any fantasy team, whether that be baseball, football, basketball, or hockey, is whose team is hot come playoff time and whose team has less injuries. Two prime examples, Sidney Crosby getting hurt and missing the last 13 games of the regular season ended up costing someone’s team a chance to advance to the championship. The other example is football, when Adrian Peterson, who always performs well, started going off towards the tail end of the season, the person who had him on their team rode his performances straight to a championship. Baseball is very interesting though because of what you mentioned about Strasburg. When a pitcher of his caliber gets shut down, it hurts your team more than you think. In your opinion is it more detrimental to your team to have a pitcher get shut down/hurt or a batter shut down/hurt?

Greg to Joe

I can’t wait for the summer of 2014 for the next LeBron decision. I hope he goes back to Cleveland, but I am not so sure he does. I also think legacy talk is ridiculous. Championships are won by teams. If people are measuring players about the amount of championships they win, they are basically saying that basketball is an individual’s sport. And you can tell, if your watching these NBA Finals, it is clearly a team sport. The better team wins the game. LeBron carried his team, but if Bosh doesn’t get that rebound and Allen doesn’t hit that three, LeBron’s effort does not matter.

It depends on the make-up of your team for the most part when it comes to players getting hurt at the end of the year on your fantasy team. If all things being equal, I would say pitcher if we are talking top 5 pitcher, but otherwise hitter. With a top pitcher, like Clayton Kershaw, you are almost guaranteed to win 3 categories (ERA, WHIP, & K’s) in a two start week. You are pretty much always given at least one win as well. So if you lose a two start week in the postseason, you’re done. You cannot make that up, unless you stream starters insanely well in his place. Otherwise, a hitter hurts more because they play everyday and it costs valuable counting stats (RBI’s, runs, home runs, stolen bases).

I think losing an ace on your fantasy staff hurts you in the long run because pitchers are harder to come by once the draft goes by. Especially in a 10 team league, you really have find the diamond in the rough among the free agents. Like any fantasy team, you have to draft well in the later rounds; luckily for me, I picked R.A. Dickey extremely late last year and I think that was a good pick to say the least. On a week-to-week basis, missing a hitter, like you missing Bryce Harper, hurts you because of his power and his ability to get on base.

Greg quick Bobcats response:

Maybe it’s a good thing because they will suck again and get the # 1 pick next year and get to draft Andrew Wiggins (the next NBA superstar).

They are the number 4 and number 11 best prospects in baseball prior to 2013, according to Baseball America. Oddly enough, both of these prospects have been involved in big time trades. The Kansas City Royals had been grooming Myers since 2009. They decided that they could contend in 2013 and had enough bats. Therefore, they dealt Myers to the Tampa Bay Rays for James Shields and Wade Davis. Myers was a huge pick up for Tampa because they save money and get another big bat in the line up to join Evan Longoria for the future. Zack Wheeler was dealt to the New York Mets from the San Francisco Giants for Carlos Beltran. The Giants made this deal because they thought they could get to the playoffs in 2011, but they were unable to and did not defend their World Series title. The Mets, a team that has been struggling for a long time, got a big time starter for their future rotation. For each of these teams and players, the future is now.

Wil Myers will be a nice bat for the Rays. They need another power bat in that line up. Hopefully, their pitching can hold up after a couple of Matt Moore blow ups, and David Price and Alex Cobb injuries. Personally, I hope it doesn’t work out, but that is only in an actual baseball sense because I am an Orioles fan. However, I believe he will be a force to be reckoned with. Not at the level of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Mike Trout and Yasiel Puig but pretty damn close. He has .300 batting average and a .389 on base percentage. He also has 78 home runs in 5 seasons in the minors. Baseball America has him rated at a 60 bat and 70 power on the 20-80 scale. That should lead to a batting average around .300 over the course of his career and, in his peak years, about 35 homers. Now for this season, I expect good power. He will probably hit home runs on a 25 homer pace for the rest of the season. That should be about 14 homers over the remaining 93 games. As for his average, I am not expecting much. He will probably have a .260 batting average or so. I say this because he struck out in 21% of his plate appearances in the minors. He will probably strike out at a higher rate as he adjusts to MLB pitching. For fantasy purposes, he is definitely worth a pick up. Of course, I drafted him and dropped him in a league that I am in with the two guest writers I have had, Joe Meola and Chris Turner. But I have him in 2 other leagues, and I am very happy to see the Rays call him up. Look for a good half season MLB debut.

Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler

Zack Wheeler looks to be a great number 2, behind Matt Harvey, in the Mets’ rotation for years to come. Baseball America has his fastball at a 70 and his slider and control at a 60. This means that his fastball runs from 93-97mph and he has an above-average slider. Also, he has above-average command. He is debuting against the Atlanta Braves tonight and I have no idea what to expect. On the one hand, he could dominate the Braves and strike out 7-10 guys in 7 or so innings. On the other hand, the Braves could hit 4 homers off of him and chase him out in 3 innings. I have no idea what to expect. In terms of fantasy, he is definitely worth a speculative add in all leagues. I probably wouldn’t start him on Tuesday. If he pitches well, ride him. If he pitches poorly, drop him. Pitchers are much more volatile than hitting prospects in baseball. Baseball prospects, in general, are extremely volatile, so projections are really hard to make. Hopefully he turns into the good player that he has the potential to be and plays a big part in the Mets’ rotation for years to come.

For today specifically, I don’t know what to expect for Myers and Wheeler. They should be forces to be reckoned with. Maybe, we have the next Trout and Strasburg (injury-free Stras of course). Today, we’ll see the beginning.

While watching the Monday Night Baseball game between the Red Sox and the Rays with my dad, a benches clearing brawl (for lack of a better word) occurred after Red Sox pitcher John Lackey threw a fastball right between the numbers of Rays hitter Matt Joyce, who had homered his previous at-bat. It was at this time that a stream of consciousness came running through my head.

Now in hockey, when two guys drop the gloves, everyone knows they certainly mean it. I don’t even want to know what goes on in the pile during a scrum for a loose football in the NFL. Even in the NBA, about once a year or so, you actually see significant violence take place (flopping discussion for another day). However, in baseball, what ultimately gets accomplished? It’s a glorified pushing match, and more often than not, the hitter and the pitcher have 3-4 players between them before anything resembling a punch can be thrown. The benches clear, followed by the bullpens, which is a ridiculous conversation in its own right, and ends up being a waste of time in an already slow-paced game. Simply put, it’s just an all-around bad look for baseball, a sport which constantly gets knocked for being soft.

Just ask Zack Greinke who got injured trying to defend himself after hitting Carlos Quentin during a game in the beginning of the season that didn’t even matter because let’s face it, the Padres were involved. Before that, nothing that significant has happened when a batter charged the mound since Pedro Martinez knocked over Don Zimmer in ’03.

Pedro Martinez and Don Zimmer Brawl

Now I’m all for backing up your teammates and protecting your guys, especially in a sport where you spend over half of the year together as a unit, but I think as long as charging the mound is permitted, they should just let the two guys duke it out like men. I mean, what better way is there to teach a guy not to throw at you again than taking him out of the game because he can’t stand up? Same thing goes from a pitchers perspective since I most certainly would not charge a guy like C.C. Sabathia, who could probably throw me back to the dugout from which I came. The shoving matches don’t accomplish anything for anybody, except make me want to change the channel.

Lost in all of these thoughts was the worst part of the whole thing, which is John Lackey. Who, after making quick work of 8 consecutive batters, nails Joyce and proceeds to mouth, “I didn’t do that [expletive] on purpose!” Really? So that one just slipped away from you, and it just so happens that you waited to get back around to the guy in the lineup who just took you yard. At least man up to what you explicitly did and don’t wait until your third baseman comes and restrains you before you start acting like a tough guy.